European Business Schools Librarian's Group

HEC Research Papers Series,
HEC Paris

No 1616: Does Alt Data Tilt Bargaining Power in Relationship Lending? Evidence from Borrowers' Premium Customer Base

Albert Mensah and Fred Asante
Additional contact information
Albert Mensah: HEC Paris - Accounting and Management Control Department
Fred Asante: Cornell University

Abstract: Relationship lenders extract rents by leveraging private borrower information unavailable to outside lenders. We examine whether alternative data (hereafter, "alt data") can narrow this gap. Using digital foot-traffic data, we construct an iOSshare measure capturing customer-affluence information that historically only relationship lenders could infer. Increases in this measure reduce loan spreads for relationship borrowers, after controlling for both ex-ante and ex-post changes in credit risk. The residual spreads beyond credit risk adjustments are consistent with a decline in economic rents. The results indicate that alt data diffuse borrowerspecific customer information to competing lenders, diminish informational holdup, and ultimately tilt bargaining power towards borrowers in relationship lending.

Keywords: Rent Extraction; Private Debt; Loan Pricing; Alternative Data

JEL-codes: G10; G21

76 pages, First version: December 23, 2025. Revised: February 19, 2026.

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